‘People don’t understand where to drive.’ I-84 work zone lanes confused drivers
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- I-84 lane reconfiguration at the Meridian‑Nampa border caused driver confusion.
- ITD crews repainted lines, covered old markings and added cones to clarify the pattern.
- The new traffic pattern will remain until late fall 2026 while interchange work continues.
Over the past year, Treasure Valley drivers have likely gotten used to the hallmark signs of road work along Interstate 84 and the coming Idaho 16 interchange: reduced speeds, new traffic signs and lots of orange cones.
But a recent lane configuration caused so much confusion for drivers on the stretch of freeway at the Meridian-Nampa border that the Idaho Transportation Department had to act fast over Memorial Day weekend to change it.
The traffic pattern went into place over the weekend of May 16-17, as crews prepared to move into a new phase of construction on the interchange, according to a spokesperson for the transportation department.
It was in place for roughly a week when the department started getting driver complaints about the markings around the end of last week and going into the holiday weekend, Jill Youmans told the Idaho Statesman by phone. Those were soon followed by a call from the Idaho State Police informing the department that “people don’t understand where to drive,” Youmans said.
Crews believed that “people would understand based on the white lines that were there and the yellow lines that were there, the path that they needed to follow,” Youmans said. “... What we found out pretty quickly is that drivers, in fact, did not know where they needed to drive.”
Youmans said crews with Boise’s Concrete Placing Co. had been tasked with covering over the old lines and painting the new ones, in order to shift traffic toward the center median so that construction crews could work on the interchange from the outer lanes of the interstate. Work at the interchange is overseen by ITD inspectors and project managers, she said.
“To make a safe working environment we want to push the traffic as far away from the work zone is possible,” Youmans said. “... When we do that, we go in and repaint lanes, we black out the old ones and paint the new ones,” she said.
Drivers were confused by two yellow lines painted eight feet apart, as well as the reflectiveness of the black paint that covered over the old lines, Youmans said. That was compounded by the fact that drivers were used to the previous traffic pattern, she said.
For roughly a year, traffic had been shifted toward the outer lanes of the interstate, including on the shoulder of the road, so that crews could set up a work zone in the center median area, placing girders and top decks on the new “flyover” interchange. The new configuration flipped that, shifting traffic toward the median with a work zone on the outside.
KTVB first reported on the lane confusion.
Crews fix confusing lane markings following driver, police concerns
On Sunday, crews with Concrete Placing Co. revisited the site to clarify the markings, Youmans said by email. That included adding cones and repainting lines.
“Simply put, they ensured that old lines weren’t visible to drivers anymore, so that drivers could more easily see/understand the new lines,” she wrote.
Youmans said by phone that crews will return Thursday to “continue to refine” the markings and “make it as safe as possible.” In a few weeks, the area will be repaved, which she said would “get rid of all of the ghost lines and all of the reflective black paint and everything else, with a brand new nice driving surface.”
She said ITD is not aware of any crashes that resulted from the confusion. The Statesman contacted a spokesperson for the Idaho State Police for confirmation Wednesday but did not receive a response.
The new pattern is expected to be in place until late fall 2026. During that time, crews are expected to wrap up work on the new on- and off-ramps, Youmans said.
The interchange and full Idaho 16 corridor are expected to open in 2027, according to ITD. At that point, officials say, traveling along Idaho 16 from the interstate up to Idaho 44, or State Street, is expected to take 7-10 minutes. Getting to Emmett from I-84 is expected to take about 20 minutes.
